For example, you met John Smith on an elevator in ABC Corporate Building. You would Google “John Smith” and “ABC” in the same search bar. Or perhaps John Smith’s boy Greg plays soccer for nearby Allentown High. Google “Greg Smith” “soccer” or “Greg Smith” “Allentown” to find information about Greg.
Beware of sites that ask you to pay. There are free sites and for-profit sites – some of which descend into outright scamming.
Yahoo People Search is another tool to try, although its functionality is very basic. If all else fails, try zabasearch. This will turn up every single phone number, address, and person with a similar name going back decades!
Whitepages. com also often gives names of people closely related to the one being searched. This gives you more keywords to search, more opportunities of finding the information you want.
If the person was an adolescent in the early 2000s, see if his/her Xanga or Myspace is still online. Several of these sites have few privacy settings and can provide a wealth of information.
